Chapter 169 - The Midgard Serpent

  “This topic is a bit old and plex. All we have are records from an a, extinct culture, from the people who created the ented relics. These are fragments found in excavations, written in anuage,” the Headmistress expined.

  The headache was being unbearable, and my vision alternated between blurry and clear.

  “Does anyone wao expin? I should warn you that this is sidered a theory, based on what has been discovered,” she added.

  The students exged gnces, hesitant. Then I saw Syvis raise her hand.

  “I want to learn,” she said.

  I had fotten how much she loves excavations and a culture.

  Headmistress Victoria scratched her , refleg for a moment before tinuing.

  “Schors say that the Founding Emperor, when dividing the three kingdoms, actually imitated something that already existed or, rather, something that oed,” the Headmistress began.

  I interrupted before she could tinue: “What is the white line in the cave ainting?”

  I o uand before we ged topics.

  The Headmistress looked at the image on the board.

  “That white line was said to separate the tis. When it disappeared, the magical ti was able to join the Human Empire’s ti. This is what we’ve discovered and theorized; or it could simply be the stories of a fotten people. Even schors like Professor Sincir haven’t reached a sensus. There are many materials on the in of our ti found on her ti’s side,” the Headmistress expined.

  She walked over to the book, turned a page, and the image on the board ged to a representation of the three kingdoms.

  “What do you see in this image?”

  It was an engraving on stone, showing an elven king, a human king, and a demi-human king.

  “These are the three types of races on our ti. There are exactly three kings in this image. This image you’re looking at is not ret; it was discovered in an excavation and dates back to a period before the Founding Empire. Now, how could an image depig three kingdoms exist before the Founding Emperor created the three kingdoms?” she questioned.

  “The theory is that the Founding Emperor was a great researcher of a culture. He was known for seeking a artifacts and relics. Even Asalon, the creature he tamed, was found while he was searg for monstrous creatures, like dragons.”

  I looked down, where the cat was sleeping on my p.

  People began whispering, intrigued by the Headmistress’s expnation.

  “When the emperor died and divided his kingdom, he was inspired by what he found in a excavations,” she tihe Headmistress moved to the image, which showed a rge tree.

  ‘Sssss’ A soft hissing echoed in the darkness of my mind.

  Are you involved in this story? I thought, as the hissing ceased along with the headache.

  “Around 500 years ago, we discovered a word in an unknown nguage. This word be transted as ‘Realm’ or ‘World,’” the Headmistress expined, ging the image again.

  “The realm called ‘Alfheim’ was home to beings with pointed ears who possessed powers of nature and light. This pce may have been the in of the high elves, who gave rise to the on elves on this ti. All we have are stone engravings showing several high elves and the word Alfheim, indig their ‘world’ or ‘realm,’” she said, turning to the page.

  The new image on the board showed a stoh inscriptions in an unknown nguage.

  “The realm is called ‘Jotunheim,’ the home of the ‘jotun,’ known as giants. They were strong people, capable of transf into creatures much rger than a human, hehe term ‘giants.’ Jotunheim is where we theorize the demi-humans came from,” the Headmistress cluded.

  ‘Ssssssssss’ I heard the sound of a serpent emerging from the shadows. I saw its monstrous white head appear from the darkness, its eyes staring at me before disappearing bato the shadows.

  What the hell is going on with you?

  Was it because I overdid it with the Celestial Eyes?

  The headache returned with full force but quickly dissipated.

  “The st realm was called Midgard,” the Headmistress tinued, as the image on the board ged.

  On the board was an image of a map surrounded by a scaly white line.

  “Midgard was where humans came from… or rather, magical humans. Although simir, they are different from the humans of the Human Empire because they possess mana. Midgard was the inal realm of magical humans. What the Founding Emperor did, schors believe, was inspired by these three a realms.”

  I looked at it, trying to absorb the information.

  “It’s iing, stories of a civilizations…” I murmured.

  “I told you!” Syvis said, excited.

  The book they showed wasn’t given as study material. I wanted both that book and Professor Sincir’s. Her book mentioned why the Theocracy hated people from my ti and talked about Illuminated Beings who had given them knowledge. I o find out what these Illuminated Ones were.

  Is Cyl’s ravolved in any of this information I’ve discovered? The white line in the cave painting looks a lot like the creature in my eyes. It must be that.

  What I know about this creature is that it’s a gigantic white serpent with a dragon’s face that lived in the o. That scaly white line has to be it. Are the beings who helped Cyl’s ravolved with this a civilization?

  I needed answers, and I was treading dangerous ground.

  Cyl wasn’t the only phoenix; there are more of them. She told me about ahat was ing, and I saw those dark figures at the diable when I left the pce where Sisika took me. I had the vision of that dark figure with red eyes, and ter, I saw Sisika helping me on that stormy night. Those dark beings weren’t normal people; they were things that exuded evil.

  I pondered my options. Over the years, I’d tried to uncover what Cyl’s race really was, but I found no material that gave me answers. Even as a high noble, I couldn’t find a single dot. There was no information on a race resembling humans but who were phoehe situation worsened when Cyl awakened her bestial form as a massive dragon. I had hit a dead end, with many questions and no answers.

  Perhaps the information simply hasn’t been discovered. Are the answers in a civilizations?

  I looked at Professor Sincir. She approached the board and touched it, making the images disappear, leaving the board bnk again. With her finger, she wrote the word ‘Theocracy.’

  “We don’t know how or when, but my people learned from the Illuminated Ohat demons would e from the sea. That was when your people were discovered. Another tihat wasn’t supposed to be there previously. At least, that was the theory, as there are no records of you. In those human nds, in dots, maps, letters… there was never aion of another ti ected by a border,” Professor Sincir expined, underlining the word ‘Theocracy.’

  “The Illuminated Ones left us their words of wisdom, and everything we’ve followed from them worked for my people. All the knowledge we acquired through them helped our society to evolve, tanize. We learo bat diseases by creating vaes, methods of stru, advanced mathematics. The people of the Theocracy, who lived in a desote nd, learo cultivate that difficult soil. We learo create different ons and much more through our faith in the Illuminated Ones.”

  As she spoke, my mi into a panic, but not because of the guardian—it was because of me.

  A God!? This ’t be happening. What are these Illuminated Ones!?

  I had to trol my breathing to avoid hyperventiting.

  “One day, the voice of the Illuminated Oopped giving us knowledge. They did this through h Priests. Then things started to happen: diseases emerged, natural disasters occurred mysteriously—torsunamis, drought, famine. Even our administration was affected. My people were guided by the Illuminated Ones in every decision, and their silence had sequences, leaving us lost,” she tinued.

  Professor Sincir touched the bain, and a gigantic image appeared, showing the two tis. I could see the Human Empire ti and my ti, ected by a small border.

  “The high priests spent decades praying to the Illuminated Orying to uand why they were abandoned. One day, they finally responded, saying, ‘You have lost your faith.’ This surprised the priests of that time. They fell to their knees, begging for fiveness, g they had opped believing. All they received in response was: ‘Then why are our Norse eill alive?’” Professor Sincir marked an X over our ti.

  She looked at the somewhat shocked faces of the students, who now uood the truth behind the war.

  “That is why my people hate you. To them, you are the demons who have ied the nd and are preventing the Illuminated Ones fring peace. Every baby, every child, every teenager, every adult, and every elder iheocracy thinks this way, and killing you is sidered an act of faith.”

  She erased the board.

  “Unfortunately, css is over. Perhaps another day, I’ll expin more.”

  Author's Note:

  Hello, dear readers!

  The word 'Nordic' has been repced with 'Norse,' as they have different meanings. Therefore, in the previous chapter, where the word 'Nordic' was used, it has been corrected.

  After this chapter, where we’ve had these revetions about Alfheim, Jotunheim, and Midgard, many of you have already solved a part of the puzzle regarding this world. Now, you uand that, from the very beginning, the three races we’ve seen represent the races from hology. With this information, you start f your own theories. At the start, many of you pointed out that it was a bit cliché for Nathan to be desded from the elven royal family... I just stayed silent, but now, with the text of hology established, things gain a new perspective and meaning. I’ll stay quiet about this for now…

  I reend not missing the chapter; it will clude this introductory arc at the Apsalon Academy. Book 3 is divided into three parts. The chapter will the first part and begin the arc of the sed part, which is VERY important.